How are you?
I just read my last post..July last year.. it’s been a while. We have so much to catch up on…
Last year was huge. We spent pretty much most of our time at the farm working on something. The house is pretty much renovated, the gardens are complete, we created some outdoor seating areas, Benji started on converting part of the shed into a studio, we bought a few hens and a rooster named Freddy and we did a lot of landscaping. We ended up buying a tractor (changed our world) and I slashed the paddocks which took many many weeks. In between we spent time with the kids and family in Brisbane, went to Bali to celebrate my Mum’s 80th, went to Moreton Island to celebrate Maya’s 21st, made some new friends and spent time with old friends.
So there is a very brief recap of the last six months.
This year we are planning on taking it a bit slower.. not working as hard here on the farm. We have two main projects we would like to do, covert the old garage next to the house into a potting shed/workshop space and finish Benji’s studio. We might get a start on the bathroom and outdoor kitchen over at the tiny house but we will see…
This past weekend we worked over at Millers Lane all day Saturday, we are going to put it on the market in the next week or so, and then Sunday we had a day off! Didn’t do any work (we can’t remember last time we did this..). Had a late breakfast, went to the gym, went for coffee, had a late lunch, Benji had a nap, I did some crocheting and spent the evening chatting and making plans. It was so relaxing!! Slow Sundays! I'm here for them.
I have been playing with lots of things in the kitchen, guided by what is growing in the garden. I have been pickling beetroot, zucchini, rhubarb, drying flowers for tea and kombucha, dehydrating herbs and beef jerky (this has been a little life changing) preserving lemons, and made cheong for the first time with a friend’s kumquats which was delicious.
The garden is coming along ok. The soil is not great and the plants never seem to be thriving. It will take time to build the soil. In the meantime I just give them as much love as I can… the summer garden at the moment consists of lots of zucchini, eggplants, bush beans, tomatoes, basil, cucumbers, silverbeet, spinach, fennel, watermelon, corn, choko, and pumpkins… there are also some berries but the birds usually beat me to them.. I have started to focus on growing flowers and am loving it! Who knew. I grew some foxgloves for the first time which were stunning, and now I have lots of dahlias and zinnias in the garden. It is so lovely to look out the kitchen window and see so much beauty.. little works of art.
At the moment the zucchinis are what I am harvesting mostly. It is really extraordinary how fast they grow. I love it when I get a glut of something because I find I really need to get creative…I have been making zucchini and basil soup (a soup Benji has made for years and one we really love) which I am freezing for cooler seasons, roasting them, pickling them, and making a salad with them.. I have decided to start sharing some of my recipes which you can find here... I love to hear if you have any interesting zucchini recipes…?
I pulled out the knitting needles again last week after having a break over the past few months. Maya and her boyfriend Jeremy are heading to Europe next month for a holiday and I thought I’d knit them a beanie each before they go. I found a beautiful wool blend, a pink one for Maya and slate coloured for Jeremy. It’s nice to be knitting again. The drive from Brisbane to here is about 3.5 hours so the perfect amount of time to get in some serious knitting…
Well that’s it from me at the moment. Benji and I are about to head over to Millers Lane to do some more tidying up and then go to town for a pub dinner.
Love to hear your news.
I hope everything is wonderful in your world.
Love Tash xxx